IQALUIT, Nunavut and YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories (August 22, 2018) - Speakers Joe Enook and Jackson Lafferty today welcomed the decision of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to renew the mandatory distribution order for the broadcast services of the Nunavut and Northwest Territories legislatures. The renewal has been granted without an expiry date.

In its decision, the Commission stated that it is “… satisfied that these services continue to meet the criteria for mandatory distribution … they promote cultural diversity in Canada and provide programming relevant to the North that is not available from any other source.”

Speaker Lafferty said, “The Commission’s decision to renew our mandatory distribution order ensures that residents of both territories will continue to be able to view the proceedings of their legislatures on both cable and satellite services.”

In April of 2013, representatives from both legislatures appeared before the Commission on the occasion of its public hearing concerning the legislatures’ joint application for mandatory distribution. The Commission issued a five-year mandatory distribution order in August of 2013. Both legislatures submitted their joint application for renewal in July of 2017.

Speaker Enook said, “We are pleased that the Commission’s decision acknowledged the efforts that both of our legislatures make to broadcast our proceedings in a number of Aboriginal languages.”

-30-

For further information:

John Quirke, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut - (867) 975-5000 Tim Mercer, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories - (867) 767-9130